There are fights, and then there are fights.
During World War II, Filipino soldiers fought alongside their U.S. counterparts, sharing the same fears, fights, and fates as part of the guerrilla resistance. They were on the front lines of the battle of Corregidor, they fought at Bataan, and they walked in that infamous journey that eventually became known as the Bataan Death March.
For their efforts, they were promised the same health and pension benefits American soldiers received. But that promise never materialized.
On Feb. 18, 1946, the Rescission Act of 1946 went into effect. It declared the Filipino soldiers’ service was not “active service,” denying them many of the benefits they were promised when they entered service.
So later, those same Filipinos began fighting again, this time for immigration rights, then for Social Security benefits, and again for compensation and recognition for their service, something most Filipino veterans call “full equity.”
That last battle began winding toward success with the recent passage of the federal Economic Stimulus bill, which included legislation awarding surviving Filipino veterans with a one-time lump sum payment: U.S. citizens get $15,000, while Philippines citizens get $9,000.
The money marked a long-awaited victory for the veterans, but the celebration was bittersweet. Some even found the funds to be offensive. And for others, it was too late. By most estimates, there are only about 18,000 Filipino World War II veterans still alive: 6,000 in the United States and 12,000 in the Philippines. Most of the former soldiers are in their 80s or 90s. Their attrition rate has been cited as anywhere from three to 10 veterans dying each day.
Rosalie Marquez, president of the Central Coast Filipino American Historical Society, said she’s pleased to hear that surviving veterans are finally getting some recognition and compensation “for their hard work and training and their part to help win the war.”
Marquez said it’s been a long fight to win such recognition, and that these days, there aren’t many local Filipino veterans who can enjoy it. Many have passed away, and others have returned to the Philippines.
There is Ben Reyes, however, who lives in Santa Maria with his family and lots of memories of his service. He said there used to be a lot more veterans—they even had veterans groups—but since the government began allowing them to move back to the Philippines and still receive what SSI benefits they had, many did pack up and leave.
‘It was my job’
Reyes has followed the fight for various Filipino rights for years. He said he believes the compensation came just in time for many veterans.
“It’s very good,” he said. “It’s success.”
He added that he’s “very old” and doesn’t know how much longer he’ll live, but Reyes carries himself strongly, even if he speaks softly. His skin has a soft, comfortable, lived-in look, but his face shines with a healthy glow. The only obvious sign that he’s getting on in age is a slight tendency to occasionally turn his ear toward whomever’s talking. He’s 82 years old.
In 1944, Reyes was 17 and living in the Philippines, where he joined the guerrilla army. He felt he had little choice. He shared a sense of fear with his fellow Filipinos, a sense of having no other options. The way Reyes figured it, he said, he’d rather die fighting than die without a fight.
“The Japanese would recruit men to build the roads for them, and sometimes the ones they recruit, they didn’t come back,” Reyes remembered. “They just killed them to protect what they did.”
Reyes served as a medic first aid man in the military until 1949. He saw men injured, carried away on stretchers.
In some ways, he reminisced, the war may have been easier on him, because he didn’t have a family as did other men around him, who would come to him and complain about one ailment or another.
“I knew they were doing it because they were scared to go to the battlefield, but without my certification they couldn’t go to the emergency station,” he said. “I’d have to just send them back out. There was nothing else I could do. It was my job.”
A matter of money
Some veterans have likened the stimulus funds to a mercenary payment. Reyes saves newspaper clippings with such quotes in a binder alongside his military records. Reyes, however, said he believes he did his duty—and if payment is due for his service, then so be it.
Jon Melegrito, communications director for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, also talked about veterans’ mixed reactions to the money. The conflicting opinions and emotions, he said, sprang up because veterans have waited so long—about 63 years—and have grown frustrated because the funds came with such a fight. Still, recipients have to admit that the payment comes at a critical time, when the economy is in crisis and many veterans are hurting financially.
Melegrito said the national federation considers the legislation as a win, even though it took years to implement.
“To us, it’s a significant step towards the struggle for full equity,” he said. “Civil rights like this are not won overnight.”
Melegrito also said the association was disappointed, mostly in the fact that the funds were bandied about for years while Congress fought.
“We hoped it would be a bi-partisan decision, but the record shows it’s been the Democratic Party carrying the water for this bill for the last 15 years with very little Republican support,” Melegrito said. “It’s been an uphill struggle in Congress trying to get something.”
Despite the long, rough, and often painful fight, many veterans consider their forthcoming compensation to be their long- awaited recognition as soldiers.
“It’s about the honor of being recognized once and for all, because that was taken from them: the honor of being recognized as U.S. veterans,” Melegrito said.
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was the leading force behind getting the measure included in the stimulus package. He met with resistance, most infamously from former presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who’s been quoted as questioning the legislation’s inclusion because it doesn’t stimulate the economy or create jobs.
On Feb. 5, Sen. Inouye addressed the floor, saying he agreed with McCain’s objection but that the measure was nonetheless an important one.
“This is not a stimulus proposal,” he conceded. “It does not create jobs. But the honor of the United States is what is involved. It is about time we close this dark chapter. … I hope my colleagues will join me in finally recognizing that these men served us well. They died for us. They got wounded for us. And they deserve recognition.”
The legislation authorizes the release of $198 million for payments to eligible Filipino World War II veterans.
Always a U.S. veteran
Shortly after the Japanese surrender, Congress enacted the Armed Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945, which included a provision called the Recruitment Act. That act called for the enlistment of Philippine citizens to create the New Philippine Scouts. Reyes was one of them. They were authorized to receive pay and allowances for services performed in the Philippine Islands, Japan, and elsewhere in the Far East. They were to be considered members of the regular army and therefore entitled to veterans’ benefits.
On May 27, 1946, Congress enacted the Second Supplemental Surplus Appropriation Rescission Act, which included a provision to limit benefits, essentially duplicating language in the first Rescission Act and applying it to New Philippine Scouts. They were stripped of the compensation they’d been promised.
In Reyes’ eyes, he’s always been a U.S. veteran. Just like any other soldier, he dutifully carried out his orders, sometimes through waves of fear—like the time he heard a comrade call for a medic in the middle of a firefight. That was his cue. But he was scared to go.
“The platoon sergeant came to my foxhole and said, ‘Didn’t you hear someone call medic?’ I said, ‘Yes, but I can’t go.’ He said, ‘Come follow me,’ and we crawled out,” Reyes remembered. “When we got there, I saw it was just a little scrape on his shoulder, and I said, ‘Do you see what you did? You put our lives in danger for a little scrape on your shoulder.’ And my platoon sergeant said, ‘Well, that’s your duty.’”
Like any other veteran, Reyes also carries fond memories of his service, such as the time he was in another firefight. He was lying face up on the ground and remembers being able to see the branches in the trees hit by bullets. He said his comrade convinced him to get up and follow. They dived into a hole.
“You know what it was? It was the latrine of the Japanese soldiers,” Reyes said, and slapped his knee and laughed at the memory.
They got away from the gunfire, but Reyes and his buddy were in up to their knees. Because their water ration was limited, they couldn’t rinse off.
“I tell the story all the time,” he said. “It’s funny now, but it was not that funny at the time.”
Still fighting
The fight for honor and recognition may technically be over for Filipino veterans, but in many ways it will continue. Melegrito said there have been other wins—such as burial benefits and SSI—but there are still benefits to recoup. Widows, he said, don’t get any entitlement from the legislation. He said the National Federation of Filipino American Associations will also seek to support fast-tracking the immigration of sons and daughters of veterans in the Philippines.
Congress has tried in the past to cut red tape and help veterans by amending the Nationality Act of 1940, which allowed Filipino veterans the privilege of becoming U.S. citizens. That’s how Reyes came to the United States. As soon as he was able, he and his son came in. A year later, his wife and seven other children followed.
The Nationality Act expired at the end of 1946. In 1990, certain Filipino veterans who served during World War II became eligible for U.S. citizenship, though that opportunity didn’t confer any veterans’ benefits.
And there are still loose ends to tie up with the recently approved compensation. Melegrito said the association hopes the claim process goes smoothly and quickly—for the benefit of the soldiers who put their lives on the line for this country so many years ago.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone can be contacted at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 12-19, 2009.